Schools Green stars: Bendigo teachers leading the way on sustainability
Three award-winning teachers and their team of Green Magpies are leading the way on sustainable awareness and practices at their Bendigo school.
Three teachers from Epsom Primary School have been jointly named Teacher of the Year (Primary) in this year’s Sustainability Victoria’s ResourceSmart Schools Awards. Affectionately known at the school as ‘The Green Gals’, Gillian Davey, Erin Salm and Sarah Charmings have transformed their school’s approach to sustainability, embedding it across the curriculum and nurturing a culture of environmental stewardship among their students.
Gillian says the whole thing began in 2016, when there were major roadworks underway in the main street outside the school. The local council offered to assign a project worker to help students come up with ideas to divert traffic away from the roadworks by encouraging families to walk, ride, or scoot to school.
The project worker, Nicola, collaborated with a Grade 3/4 class and, after five weeks, they presented their findings to their parents. Initially tasked with finding ways to reduce traffic, the project sparked a deep interest in sustainability among four of the students.
“They wanted to know about recycling, water use, electricity,” Davey explains. “It opened up an untapped area. We weren’t even recycling our paper in 2016.”
Driven by their newfound passion, these four students formed the original ‘Green Magpies’ group. Together, they discovered the ResourceSmart Schools program, a state government initiative run by Sustainability Victoria, which offers a framework for schools to integrate sustainable practices into their operations.
The program involves achieving five stars for different aspects of sustainability: a core module on action plans and data, with additional modules on energy, water, waste, and biodiversity. Under the guidance of the Green Gals, Epsom Primary School has proudly achieved all five stars – a significant accomplishment that requires substantial evidence and ongoing commitment.
“We have a responsibility as educators to be that role model for the children. It’s about showing students that they can make a difference.”
Gillian Davey
The Green Magpies, now a thriving group of around 36 students, have become the driving force behind many of the school’s environmental initiatives. From maintaining compost bays and vegetable gardens to creating bird habitats and organising stalls at Bendigo’s Sustainability Festival, these students are actively involved in hands-on projects that are making a real difference at the school and in the community more broadly.
Recognising the growing interest, the Green Gals have introduced an apprenticeship-style program for Grade 3 students where they learn from their older peers in Grades 4, 5 and 6. This program has become so popular that students now eagerly anticipate their chance to join from the moment they start at the school. Those selected receive special recognition, including a hat embroidered with the Green Magpies logo, a sticker, and an apron.
Gillian says the success of the Green Magpies and the school’s sustainable practices can be attributed to their collaborative approach. Unlike many schools where these efforts are often driven by a single passionate teacher, the ‘Green Gals’ trio share the load – and that work is taken seriously by the leadership team.
“We’re given the sustainability portfolio as part of our roles and responsibilities,” says Gill. “As sustainability coordinator, I’m given one day a week allowance to work on anything sustainability-related and at the moment my focus is the Green Nest.”
The Green Nest is a whole-school project that extends beyond the Green Magpies, involving every class in different sustainability activities. For example, the Grade 2 students are responsible for looking after the school’s chickens – currently raising some fluffy yellow chicks, housed under heat lamps outside their classroom.
Gill says a culture of sustainability now permeates the whole school, with staff actively supporting the recycling programs and ensuring that students put rubbish in the correct bins. Even pencil shavings are collected to be used as mulch on the gardens.
The Green Gals’ efforts have had a profound impact on the students, who are now equipped with the knowledge and skills to be responsible citizens. Through programs like OzHarvest’s Feast, where Grade 5 students learn cooking skills and the importance of reducing food waste, the students are taking these lessons home and influencing their families. “We’re teaching them to be community citizens, global citizens,” Gill says. “They’re the ones passionate about saving the earth.”
The recognition of their work through the ResourceSmart Schools Awards has been a significant milestone for Epsom Primary. Only a handful of schools in the region reached the five-star level. “Awards are not something that we chase, but it’s great recognition for the school,” Gill says.
The celebration of their success was a memorable event. The Green Gals organised a flash mob at the school assembly, where students surprised the audience by performing a song with lyrics written by one of the teachers. The Mayor of Greater Bendigo, Andrea Metcalf, made a special appearance, presenting the school with a large gold star to mark their achievement.
Looking ahead, the Green Gals want to inspire other schools to take sustainability seriously. “We have a responsibility as educators to be that role model for the children,” Gill says. “It’s about showing students that they can make a difference.”
